SDSU lands 4-star men's basketball recruit

Four-star recruit Dakarai Allen heard the argument “all the time” from the schools in the power conferences: Don’t go to San Diego State because it is headed to the Big West in basketball.

They should have known it would never fly: Allen’s uncle is Larry Allen, the Pro Bowl offensive tackle who spent 12 years in the NFL and who attended Division II Sonoma State.

“We don’t really care about that,” said Von Allen, Dakarai’s father and Larry’s brother. “We don’t get caught up in that. We just wanted my son to go a place where he can grow and thrive.”

That place: Montezuma Mesa.

The 6-foot-5 small forward orally committed to SDSU on Wednesday, telling UT San Diego by phone from his home in Elk Grove (outside Sacramento) that he is cancelling official visits to USC, UCLA, Washington State and Colorado because “I realized I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”

NCAA rules preclude coaches from commenting on prospective recruits until they sign a national letter of intent. The fall signing period for the class of 2013 opens Nov. 14.

Allen becomes the first Aztecs commit from the class of 2013 and, more significantly, the first in the Big West era. Next year’s departure from the nation’s fifth-ranked conference in men's basketball (Mountain West) to the 26th, and the accompanying loss in prestige and television exposure, was supposed to mean a return to the living rooms of one- and two-star prospects. And when the Aztecs had zero commitments through July, August and into September, Chicken Little was starting to build a following.

Landing Allen, then, may lead to other big fish. College recruiters will tell you that sometimes it’s not always about what your team or school has to offer, but who plans to play for it.

Allen’s teammate at Sheldon High is three-star guard Darin Johnson, who has been linked to the Aztecs and has scholarship offers from most of the Pac-12 as well. Allen also said he’ll “work on” Isaac Hamilton, a five-star guard from St. John Bosco in Los Angeles who is rated the nation’s 13th-best prospect by Rivals.com and lists SDSU among his five finalists (with UNLV, Washington, Baylor and UTEP).

Allen is a four-star recruit by all three major services – Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN – and is ranked as high as 87th nationally by ESPN. He averaged 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.1 blocks for a 29-6 Sheldon team that lost to Santa Ana Mater Dei in the California Division I state championship game.

Allen’s parents talked about the family atmosphere cultivated by Coach Steve Fisher and his staff. Another factor, certainly, was an increasingly productive Sacramento pipeline; SDSU’s starting guards, Xavier Thames and Chase Tapley, are both from Sacramento, and Allen has known Thames since 4th grade.

But Allen sees himself more like another Aztec: Kawhi Leonard, the first-round draft choice (and rookie starter) of the San Antonio Spurs after two seasons at SDSU.

“Seeing what they did with Kawhi was a big influence,” said Allen, who doesn’t turn 18 until February and, based on doctors’ projections, expects to grow to 6-7. “I see myself trying to be just like him. I try to model my game after his.”

Allen was said to be leaning toward the Aztecs over the summer, but the landscape suddenly changed a month ago when he received an offer from UCLA and took an unofficial visit there, telling one recruiting blog: "I like the whole aura of the staff and everyone there. The Hall of Fame display was amazing… it was insane."

The subject of SDSU and the Big West no doubt was broached.

Allen wasn't biting.

“His goal is to win a national championship with (SDSU)," said Von Allen, a general manager at Best Buy in the Sacramento area. "He has a good chance to send Coach Fisher out on a high note, because I know he wants to play for a national championship one more time.”